Resilient partition structure



March 26, 1968 P. w. TILLISCH ETAL 3,374,591

RESILIENT PARTITION STRUCTURE Original Filed Dec. 28, 1962 5Sheets-Sheet 1 36 FIg 1 Full 1 fillies/0 Glory: 5. Meyer Run P4p4li4INVENTOR.

March 26, 1968 P. w. TILLISCH ETAL 3,374,591

RESILIENT PARTITION STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 28,1962 March 26, 1968 P. w. TILLISCH ETAL 3,374,591v

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United States Patent G 3,374,591 RESILIENT PARTITION STRUCTURE Paul W.Tillisch, George E. Meyer and Rocco Papalia, Antioch, Calif., assignorsto Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc., Oakland, Calif., a corporation ofWashington Continuation of application Ser. No. 247,976, Dec. 28, 1962.This appfication Jan. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 521,886 9 Claims. (Cl. 52241)This application is a continuation of our copending application forpatent, Ser, No. 247,976, filed on or about Dec. 28, 1962, nowabandoned.

This invention relates to wall construction; and more particularly itrelates to ceiling and to floor track means for supporting wall boardpanel construction, and to partitions produced thereby.

In normal building construction, particularly of the multistory type,and more particularly in such construction where concrete slabs formsuccessive floors and/or ceilings, there is a tendency of such floorslabs and ceiling slabs to deflect or sag with the passage of time. Inthe construction of such buildings, non-loadbearing partitions are alsoinstalled in general practice and these may comprise gypsum lath or wallboard, or lath or board composed principally of mineral, e.g. glass,fiber or of cellulose fibers of the well known types; and, if desired,with application also of plaster coats. The deflection or sag of theconcrete ceiling or floor construction has created numerous problems inthe satisfactory installation of nonloadbearing partitions, for examplein dry wall construction, in that the sagging, for instance, may resultin bowing or even cracking of the partition, lath, plaster or the wallboard, for example, aiter installation. Such unsightly damage is verydiflicult to correct.

According to the present invention, such sagging, deflection or warpingof ceiling and floor construction is compensated for by means of animproved ceiling track or an improved floor track, or both, each ofwhich enables adjustment to the changes occurring in the normal floorand ceiling construction. By the present invention the mentioned sag ordeflection is compensated for by yieldable support means incorporated inthe floor track or ceiling track or both, permitting adjustment to avoidstresses or strains in the wall board panels or laths. In one embodimentthere is employed a ceiling track having a resilient means incorporatedtherein to effect vertical adjustment. One such resilient means in eacharm is an inwardly inclined arm such as in FIGURE and another is aresilient loop, e.g., as shown in FIGURE 10. In a further embodiment,for example, there is a vertically slidable means incorporated in theceiling track or runner means to effect such adjustment.

Some advantageous embodiments of the present invention are shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end view of a floor track according to the presentinvention,

FIGURE 2 is a side view showing a floor track of the present inventionattached to a subjacent support such as a floor.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view showing a wall board installed ina floor track of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a floor track of the presentinvention.

FIGURE 5 is an end view of a ceiling track of the present invention.

3,374,591 Patented Mar. 26, 1968 FIGURE 6 is a side view of a ceilingtrack according to the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a ceiling track according to thepresent invention as installed in a ceiling.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional view of a ceiling track and wall boardinstallation according to the present invention.

FIGURE 9 is a vertical section view showing a wall board in combinationwith a ceiling track and a floor runner, each according to the presentinvention.

FIGURE 10 is an end view of another embodiment of a resilient ceilingtrack according to this invention.

FIGURE 11 is a partial sectional view of a wall board and partitioninstallation employing the ceiling track or runner of FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 is an exploded end view of another embodiment of a yieldablesupport ceiling track according to this invention, having internal andexternal members.

FIGURE 13 is an end view of a variation of the internal member of theembodimet of FIGURE 12.

FIGURE 14 is a sectional view of a partition employing the yieldablesupport ceiling track according to FIG- URE 13.

In FIGURES 1 to 4 there is shown floor track 19, having a web 36 and twoside legs or arms 37, each of said legs having spaced-apart inwardlydirected flanges 11 at the top and a downwardly bent portion or leg 12on each such flange which springs against the side of a lath or wallboard such as 18, when the latter is installed in track 10 as shown, forexample, in FIGURE 3. Downwardl-y bent legs 12 also serve as a guide forthe insertion of lath or wall board. Flange 11 is partially cut awayfrom side leg 37 to provide a tongue 13 which can be bent upwardly toprovide further support for wall board 18 as shown in FIGURE 3. It is aparticular advantage of the tongues or tabs 13 that, when bent up to avertical position or to an angle at from 45 to from the horizontal, theyare embedded in the later-applied plaster coating and aid instrengthening the floor-track-board and combination. These tabs ortongues 13 can be located at one side only of the floor track but,preferably, at both sides thereof. Such tabs or tongues function astensible tabs in that they eiiect anincrease in the tensile strength ofthe floor elements of the wall assembly, or the floor beam as will befurther described, whereby the partition is protected against stresseswhich would be otherwise imposed by downward deflection of the concretefloor or ceiling.

In base or web 36 of channel 10 are successive struckout tongues 14which are spaced from each other along the length of the track andeffect springing contact with a subjacent support 15 as shown, forexample, in FIGURE 2, tongues 14 being bent downwardly from web 36 as at19. Such tongues 14 in one embodiment are only partially cut out andthereby act as break-away tabs under sufficient sagging stress. This isalso an advantage because plaster filled into channel 10 is morecompletely retained therein until it hardens, with better avoidance ofattachment thereof to concrete flooring. Each flange or any desirednumber of them is nailed to subjacent support 15 by a nail such as shownat 16. It will be understood that alternatively a screw or other meanscan be employed to afi'ix tongue 14 to subjacent support such as 15. Itcan be seen that tongue 14 is free to move up and down by means of ahinge effect as at 19, although it is affixed to the subjacent supportsuch as the floor 15.

When installed in place the wall board 18 is set into channel and thebase of wall board 18 then rests on web 36 of channe 10 and is supportedin vertical position by flanges 11, sprung legs 12 and tongues 13.Flanges 11 are suitably spaced apart along the length of the channel.Cut-away tongues 13 of flange 11 are bent upwardly and plaster isapplied as at 17 and is likewise charged into channel 10 to fill in alsoaround the base of board 18 and to harden to provide an over-all solidbeam effect, of excellent tensile strength. It is an advantage of thefloor track provided with resilient means that it is essentiallyself-leveling, i.e. compensates for unevenness or minor surfacevariations in the floor.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a yieldablesupport ceiling track having, e.g., a resilient means which compensatesfor the sagging of the ceiling, for example, in a multistory apartmentor oflice building where there will be problems of sagging of eithercement slabs or other types of ceiling construction. One embodiment ofsuch ceiling track according to the present invention is shown inFIGURES 5, 6, 7 and 8 where 20 generally represents the ceiling trackarticle itself. This track is comprised of a web 21 having at each sideinwardly inclined flanges 22 and 23. At the outer edge of each of theseflanges are, respectively, shoulders or stiffening walls 24 and 25 whichare disposed generally perpendicularly to web 21. Extending inwardlyfrom shoulder 24 and generally parallel to web 21 is flange 26; andextending inwardly from shoulder 25 and also generally parallel to web21 is flange 27. Preferably, flange 26 is longer than flange 27 in thepresent embodiment. Struckout tongues 28 are provided in flange 26 andthese extend downwardly from the flange. Extending downwardly, i.e., inthe direction generally perpendicular to the plane of web 21, at theouter edge of flange 27 and attached thereto is supporting element 29which is provided with a number of apertures 30, this element being alsoa flat piece of metal adapted to lie adjacent to or abutting the upperside face of a later-installed wall board or lath 31, and havingapertures 30 which provide means for keying a coat of plaster 32 toboard 31 as shown in FIGURE 8. Struck-out tongues 28 are adapted to bebent downwardly after board 31 is installed and prior to application ofa coating of plaster 32 on the surface of wall board or lath, to assistin holding it in an upright position. It will be noted that flange 21 isof sufiicient length that the upper end of the wall board terminatesbelow, or abuts the lower face thereof, and in any event cannot extendinto the interior of ceiling track 20. Likewise tongues 28 are narrowand leave only narrow apertures in flange 26 whereby any substantialpenetration of later-applied plaster into the interior of track 20 iseffectively prevented by the entire combination.

Track 20 is suitably nailed, screwed or otherwise aflixed to ceiling 33as at 34. As ceiling 33 will tend to sag with the passage of time, track20 will take up any such sag by reason of the resilience provided by thecoaction of web 21 and adjacent inclined flanges 22 and 23, each ofwhich is at an acute angle to web 21, because the web and an adjacentinclined flange bend toward each other to prevent the effect of suchsagging of the ceiling from reaching wall board 31 and causing it tobuckle or crack.

Inasmuch as the empty space in track 20 would have the effect oftransmitting sound along the track and between the walls, it is in someinstances desirable to provide some acoustical property in this ceilingtrack, i.e, to prevent sound passage therethrough. To this end, a stripof foamed rubber, foamed urethane resin, or other resilient andsound-absorbing material 35 is inserted in the track withoutdeleteriously affecting the sag-absorption properties thereof. Strips offoam urethane with an adhesive backing are obtainable in commerce andare easily applied afiixed to the interior surface of the web of suchceiling track with great improvement in the soundabsorbingcharacteristics of the resilient partition.

As shown in FIGURE 9, it can be seen that the ceiling track 20 and floortrack 10 both provide resilient means whereby changes in the verticalposition of ceiling 33 or of floor 15 are compensated for and therespective tracks adjust themselves thereto, while at the same timepreventing transmission of buckling forces or cracking stresses to thewall board which is installed therebetween, as at 18, and to plastercoating 17, where such is applied. As ceiling 33 sags, web 21 andinwardly inclined flanges 22 and 23 will bend toward each otherpreventing transmission of or dampening the force of such sag effectwith respect to flanges 26 and 27 and to the top of wall board 18 in theembodiments shown. Similarly as subjacent support 15 sags, for example,toward the central portion of a floor track. 10 with a plaster filling17 and the inserted end of wall board 18, tongue 14 which is nailed orotherwise aflixed to subjacent support 15 will bend downwardly withoutdisturbing the horizontal alignment of the main track 10. At the sametime, since tongue 14 is affixed to support 15, it prevents sidewardmovement of track 10 with respect to the subjacent support or withrespect to ceiling track 20. The bent-up tabs 13 also strengthen andstiffen the floor assembly; and it has been found that thenon-loadbearing partition of this construction is self-supporting when aconcrete floor sags away from the floor track, the total floor trackassembly acting as a beam to support the remaining elements of thepartition. It will be noted that ceiling track 20 is likewise affixed toceiling 33 to prevent horizontal motion, while permitting verticaladjustment in height.

A variation of the resiliently yieldable support in the ceiling track isshown in FIGURES l0 and 11, where the ceiling track 38 comprises a webor horizontal portion.

39 and downwardly extending side arms 40 and 41, each having an inwardloop or bent portion 42, 43 respectively, and each arm having aninwardly extending horizontal flange, 44, 45, respectively at its outerend, i.e. at the end remote from the web 39. At the inward extremity ofhorizontal flange 44 is disposed downwardly, preferably vertically,extending flange or plate 46. Upon installation, web 39 is aflixed to aceiling stud or other base by screws or nails 51, for example. Tabs 47are provided at intervals along the length of horizontal flange 45, andafter installation of a board such as 48, are bent downwardly toassist'in holding the board upright and to key to later-applied plastercoat 49 by irnbedmcnt therein. Board 48 is afiixed to flange 46 byscrews or nails 50, and plaster can be applied thereover. Upon laterdeflection of the ceiling, any vertical change is compensated for by thespringing or resilient action of loops 42, 43, reducing or substantiallypreventing warping or cracking of wall board 48 and greatly reducingspalling, cracking or damaging of plaster coat 49. Tabs 47 are cut outof flange 45 similarly to tabs 28 in flange 26. Alternatively such tabscan be welded to the under surface of flanges 26 or 45 but this is amore expensive procedure, and partially cut-out tabs are preferred. Ifdesired, downward flange 46 can be provided also with apertures similarto apertures 30 on flange 29 for better adhesion of plaster coat 49.

Another variant of the yieldable support ceiling track is shown inFIGURES 12 to 14, wherein there is provided an exterior channel track 52comprising web 53 and arms 54 and 55. Preferably, arms 54 and 55 areslightly sprung or bent inwardly, i.e., at an angle of slightly lessthan 90, preferably between and to the horizontal web, to provide aspringing engagement of the other elements of the structure as will belater described. Preferably, also, arms 54 and 55 are slightly curvedoutwardly at the ends, whereby they will tend to slide over a plastercoating when vertical movement occurs. There is also provided aninternal wall board-engaging channel 56, having web 62 and outwardlyextending flanges 57 and 58, which is slidably disposed within channel52, flanges 57 and 58 being in frictional engagement with arms 54 and55. Channel 56 is also provided with arms 59 and 60 within which isdisposed the top of wall board or lath 61, for example. Flanges 57 and58 can extend outwardly from the web of the internal channel or from theends of the arms of the channel, as shown in FIG- URES 12 and 13,respectively. The embodiment of FIG- URE 13 has the advantage of ease ofmanufacture. When assembled, the web of the internal chanel is spacedfrom the web of the external channel to permit sliding or verticalmovement to accommodate for sagging of the ceil ing. Arms 54 and 55 ofthe exterior channel springrngly engage the outer ends of the outwardlyextending flanges of the interior channel but the former are free toslide over such ends, when ceiling deflects or sags, to preventcommunication of added stress or pressure to the wall board or panelsupported within the ceiling track assembly. The exterior channel isfixed against horizontal movement, suitably by screwing or nailing tothe ceiling 33 as at 51. When plaster coat 63 is applied, flanges 57 and58' prevent any penetration thereof into space 64, so that freedom ofvertical movement of channels 52 and 56 with respect to each other iseffected. By means of sllght outward curvatures 65 and 66 on the arms 54and 55, respectively, of exterior channel 52, these arms are enabled tomove downwardly over plaster coating 63 wlth mini-mum damage theretoupon later sagging of ceiling 33. Preferably, the arms of the interiorchannel of this assembly are slightly sprung inwardly, which enablesmore secure gripping of the top of the panel or board insert,accommodates also to differences in width of the panel and ensures openspringing contact with the exterior channel arms.

It will 'be understood that a resilient sound-absorbing material, forexample, foamed rubber or foamed urethane resin, can be inserted in anyof the ceiling track assemblies described herein, preferably afiixed tothe interior surface of the web which is afiixed to the ceiling support.Such an insertion is particularly advantageous in that it reduces andminimizes sound transmission through such partitions. The ceiling andfloor tracks and channels described are preferably made of ferrousmetal, e.g., steel, but another metal, e.g., aluminum, or other suitablematerial can be employed if desired. Where the term wall board is usedin the specification and claims, it is intended to include anysheet-like wall member such as a board, lath, panel or the like.

The above specific description and drawings have been given forpuroposes of illustration only and various changes and modifications canbe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theclaims.

Having now described the invention,

What is claimed is: Z

1. Ceiling runner for wall construction to yieldably support a wallboard comprising an elongated web, an inwardly inclined flange at eachside of said web and integral therewith, each said flange extendingdownwardly when said runner is positioned in a ceiling, a stiffeningwall extending from the edge of said inclined flange remote from saidweb and substantially perpendicularly to and spaced from said web, aflange extending inwardly from each said stiffening wall parallel tosaid base and remote therefrom, one of said parallel flanges being widerthan the other said parallel flange and adapted to abut the top surfaceof a later-installed board, and a vertical flange extending downwardlyfrom said other parallel flange and adapted to abut a side face of alater-installed board.

2. Ceiling runner as in claim 1 wherein a resilient sound-absorbingmaterial is disposed along said Web between said inclined flanges.

3. Ceiling track for wall construction to yieldably support a wall boardcomprising a channel runner having a web and two depending arms, aresilient means in each of said arms, an inwardly extending flange atthe lower end of each said arm, a downwardly extending flange disposedat the inward edge of one of said inwardly extending flanges and adaptedto abut to an upper side face of a later-installed wall board anddownwardly bendable tabs on the other said flange to retain said wallboard in upright position.

4. Ceiling track for wall construction to yieldably support a wall boardcomprising a channel runner having a Web and two depending arms, aresilient means in each of said arms, an inwardly extending flange atthe lower end of each said arm, a downwardly extending flange disposedat the inward edge of one of said inwardly extending flanges and adaptedto be afiixed to a later-installed wall board and bendable tabs afiixedto the other said flange and adapted to be bent downwardly to retainsaid wall board in upright position and to be embedded in later-appliedplaster coating.

5. A non-loadbearing partition construction comprising a channel ceilingtrack, a channel floor track vertical- 1y yieldably aflixed to a floorin vertical alignment with said ceiling track, wall board extendingbetween and supported by said tracks, said ceiling track having a webaffixed to a ceiling and a yieldable means adapted to abut the topportion of said Wall board and having means to support said wall boardin upright position, the bottom portion of said wall board beingdisposed in said floor track, and a plaster coating disposed on saidwall board and maintained out of contact with the interior of saidceiling track and filled into said floor track, said plaster coating onsaid wall board and in the floor track forming a continuous layer.

6. A non-loadbearing partition construction comprising a ceiling track,a channel floor track vertically yieldably afiixed to a floor invertical alignment with said ceiling track, wall board extending betweenand supported by said tracks, the bottom portion of said wall boardbeing disposed in said channel floor track, a plaster coating disposedon said wall board and maintained out of contact with the interior ofsaid ceiling track and filled into said floor track, said ceiling trackhaving a web aflixed to a ceiling and two downwardly and inwardlyextending arms in springing relationship with said web, and having ahorizontal inwardly extending flange at the lowermost end of each ofsaid arms, the first said flange abutting the top of said wall board,downwardly bent tabs aflixed to said first flange and embedded in saidplaster coating, and a vertically extending flange disposed at the innerextremity of said second horizontal flange and abutting the uppersurface of said wall board.

7. Partition construction as in claim 6 wherein said floor runner isprovided with upwardly extending spacedapart tabs at the upper edgethereof adjacent said Wall board and embedded in said plaster coating.

8. A non-loadbearing partition construction comprising a ceiling runnerconnected to a ceiling, a floor runner on a floor in alignment with saidceiling runner, a wall board extending between and supported by saidceiling runner and said floor runner, said ceiling runner having aresilient flange means abutting the top of said wall board and having anelongated vertical stiflening member opposite said resilient means toabut the upper side face of said wall board and retaining meansextending downwardly from said resilient means and in contact with theopposite face of said wall board, said floor runner comprising a channeladapted to receive the base of said wall board and resilient meansbetween the web of said floor channel and said floor, said resilientmeans in said web being at least partially cut out, spaced-apart tabsand said tabs disposed underneath the base of said wall board andaflixed to said floor.

9. Floor runner for wall construction comprising an elongated web, anarm extending upwardly at each side of said web to form a channel toreceive and support the base of a Wall board, a plurality of inwardlyextending flanges at the top of each said arm spaced from each otheralong each said arm, said inwardly extending flanges being partially cutaway to form bendable tabs, a downwardly References Cited extendingflange at the inner extremity of each said in V wardly extending flangeand adapted to effect springing UNITED STATES PATENTS i contact with alater-installed wall board, and spaced cut- 1,870,579 8/1932 Levene52-40O out tongues in said web adapted to effect springing contact 51,935,537 11/ 1933 Balduf 52-.346 of said Web with a subjacent supportwhen said runner is 1,975,470 10/ 1934 Mclnerney 52-400 installed onsaid support, said inwardly and downwardly 3,125,193 3/1964 Brown 52242extending flanges being adapted to be embedded in laterapplied plaster.JOHNYE. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner.

5. A NON-LOADBEARING PARTITION CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A CHANNEL CEILINGTRACK, A CHANNEL FLOOR TRACK VERTICALLY YIELDABLY AFFIXED TO A FLOOR INVERTICAL ALIGNMENG WITH SAID CEILING TRACK, WALL BOARD EXTENDING BETWEENAND SUPPORTED BY SAID TRACKS, SAID CEILING TRACK HAVING A WEB AFFIXED TOA CEILING AND A YIELDABLE MEANS ADAPTED TO ABUT THE TOP PORTION OF SAIDWALL BOARD AND HAVING MEANS TO SUPPORT SAID WALL BOARD IN UPRIGHTPOSITION, THE BOTTOM PORTION OF SAID WALL BOARD BEING DISPOSED IN SAIDFLOOR TRACK, AND A PLASTER COATING DISPOSED ON SAID WALL BOARD ANDMAINTAINED OUT OF COTACT WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID CEILING TRACK ANDFILLED INTO SAID FLOOR TRACK, SAID PLASTER COATING ON SAID WALL BOARDAND IN THE FLOOR TRACK FORMING A CONTINUOUS LAYER.